Genies

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In Islam and pre-Islamic Arabian folklore, a genie (also jinn, djinn, from Arabic جني jinnī is a supernatural creature which possesses free will. Genies are mentioned in the Qur'an, wherein a whole Sura is named after them (Al-Jinn). They can be either good or evil. In some cases, evil genies are said to lead humans astray. In Islam, Satan, known in Arabic as Iblis, is the iconic genie that refused to bow down to Adam when ordered to by Allah.


Etymology and definitions
Genie is the English transliteration of the Arabic term jinn. The first recorded use of the word Genie in the English language was in 1655 as geny, with the Latin meaning (see Genius (mythology)). The French translators of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights later used the word génie as a translation of jinni because it was similar to the Arabic word both in sound and in meaning; this meaning was also picked up in English and has since become dominant. The plural, according to Sir Richard Francis Burton, is Jann. The French génie, in turn, came from the Latin genius, which meant a sort of tutelary or guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at their birth. The Latin word predates the Arabic word jinni in this context, and may have been introduced in the Arabian civilization through the Nabataeans[citation needed]. The root, and its concept of being "hidden" or "concealed", comes from and the Arabic word 'Jánna' which means "to hide" or "to conceal" (This is not to be confused with the Arabic word 'Jannah', which means 'paradise'), and the Semitic root "JNN".

Arabic lexicons, such as William Lane's lexicon provide the rendered meaning of jinn not only for spirits, but also for anything concealed through time, status and even physical darkness.

In other cultures, as in the Mythology Guanche (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain), also existed the belief in beings that qualify as geniuses, such as the so-called Gods paredros or maxios (domestic spirits and nature), the Tibicenas (evil genius) and also demon Guayota (aboriginal god of evil) that, like the Arabic Iblis, is sometimes identified with a genius. The Guanches were of Berber origin in northern Africa which further strengthens this hypothesis.


Jinn in the pre-Islamic era
Amongst archaeologists dealing with ancient Middle Eastern cultures, any spirit lesser than angels is often referred to as a djinn, especially when describing stone carvings or other forms of art.

The pre-Islamic Zoroastrian culture of ancient Persia believed in jaini/jahi, evil female spirits thought to spread diseases to people.

Inscriptions found in Northwestern Arabia seem to indicate the worship of djinn, or at least their tributary status. For instance, an inscription from Beth Fasi'el near Palmyra pays tribute to the "Ginnaye", the "good and rewarding gods" providing a sharp resemblance to the Latin Genius and Juno: The Guardian Spirits.

Types of djinn include the Shaitan, the Ghul, the Marid, the Ifrit and the Jinn. According to the information in The Arabian Nights, Ifrit seem to be the strongest form of djinn, followed by Marid, and then the rest of the djinn forms.

Source:
Wikipedia.org

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Or the blue one from Aladdin.